Pleasing Grandmother
by zebraboymom
Summary: A one-shot about Kono's grandmother's one hundredth birthday party. She has plans for Kono and Steve. Kove for sure.


**Pleasing Grandmother**

**Zebraboymom**

**Disclaimer: They do not belong to me. I borrowed them along with Kono's grandmother.**

**Author Notes: Kono's grandmother is celebrating her one-hundredth birthday and the Five-0 gang is invited to the festivities. Kono's grandmother has a plan for her granddaughter and one tall dark Navy SEAL. Shani8 this one-shot is for you. You said you'd love to see more of Kono's grandmother from my story Christmas Request and this idea had already been rolling around in my head, so here goes. Hawaiian words: Tutu-grandmother, Mo'opuna-grandchild, Keiki-an endearing term for a little one or a child.**

Steve hopped out of Danny's car and greeted a smiling Kono who was standing on the sprawling front veranda of her parent's home. He had no idea she and Chin came from money, but the place was huge. The enormous traditional Hawaiian home sat on several acres of prime beachfront property. He was duly impressed.

"Hey guys, Mahalo for coming. I know you don't know my grandmother, but she asked to meet you both and how could I say no? She's turning a hundred for crying out loud."

Steve had never seen her so happy and her deep dimples made her look so pretty standing there with the sun shining on her hair. Before she knew what hit her he had taken the stairs two at a time and scooped her up in a bear hug that left her feet dangling helplessly in the air.

"Steve! Put me down you big lug."

Danny watched the interaction with interest. The look of affection on Steve's face did not go unnoticed.

Steve enjoyed the feeling of having her in his arms for another moment before he sat her back on solid ground. She looked up at him for a moment with her hands still resting on his biceps and it wasn't lost on Danny that she had a twinkle in her eye as well.

Hmmm. This was an interesting development.

Kono hugged Danny and then grabbed each of them by the hand and lead them around the house on the veranda to the backyard. It was crawling with people and there were dozens of tables set up around the huge lawn with umbrellas shading them. In the middle of the yard was a long buffet and people were filling their plates.

Komekona passed them carrying not one, but two huge platters overflowing with food. Danny couldn't resist.

"Hey Babe. You might want to pace yourself there. It's still early."

Komekona just grinned and pointed to the table Chin and Malia were already sitting at. There was room for the whole team, but first Steve wanted to meet Kono's grandmother. She led them over to the center of the Lanai in back where an incredibly beautiful and elegant Hawaiian woman sat smiling at the festivities. The woman did not look like that old. She was sitting in a huge fan back chair and had several small children eating at her feet.

"Tutu, this is my boss Commander Steve McGarrett and his partner Daniel Williams."

Steve took Kono's grandmother's hand in his and kissed it softly. He slipped a wrist corsage with a beautiful orchid onto her wrist and kissed it one more time.

"Now I know where Kono gets her beauty from. It's an honor to meet you ma'am."

Kono's grandmother's eyes twinkled as she looked at the gorgeous flower. She liked this one a lot and by the look in her granddaughter's eyes, she liked him too.

"And you are a beautiful man Commander McGarrett and a smooth talker to boot. Finally I get to meet the man my daughter talks about so much."

Steve laughed and Kono looked incredibly embarrassed.

"Grandmother!"

"Come back later. I want to talk more with you Steven."

"Yes ma'am."

Kono shot her grandmother a warning look, but she just laughed and reached for Danny's hand. The detective stuttered around with what to say and the old woman patted his face and welcomed him as well. Kono had to admit she wished she could stay that sharp if she lived a hundred years. The woman amazed her.

"Now, go and eat Mo'opuna. Feed these two handsome men. They look hungry."

"Yes, Grandmother."

The three friends headed over to the buffet. Kono was suddenly very quiet. Steve let Danny go in front of him and he reached down to tip Kono's face up to his.

"Don't be embarrassed by what your grandmother said Kono. I'm actually flattered that you talked to her about me. I figured once you left work I was out of sight…out of mind."

Kono surprised him with her honesty.

"Never."

The two stood staring at each other until Danny cleared his throat and indicated that they were holding up the line. They picked up plates and followed him, stealing glances at each other as they filled their plates.

Once the plates were full, they made their way over to join their friends.

"Aloha guys. Glad you could make it."

Danny plopped down and rubbed his hands together.

"What? And miss all this great food? Not on your life."

Steve sat down beside Kono. It was the best food he could remember eating in a long time and you couldn't be beat the company. He sat close to her and his arm slid along the back of her chair. Eventually she leaned back and smiled up at him when her shoulders came into contact with his arm.

Malia and Chin smiled at each other. They knew these two had a connection. They saw it at the wedding.

The group watched as Danny kept shoveling food in. Kono knew he was going to be sorry later.

"Woah. Brah. You better slow it down there. There are a lot more festivities today and you're not going to be in any shape to participate."

"What kind of activities?"

"In my grandmother's honor there is a traditional Hawaiian competition after lunch."

Steve smiled at the look on Danny's face. This was going to be fun.

Danny looked at Kono.

"What kind of competition?"

"Let's see. Well, these games were played to teach warriors how to fight, so the games are kind of like our version of the Olympic games. There's pahi' uhi' u, which is a dart game where we throw wooden darts at a leaf target. It helps to arch it high into the air. Then there's ihe pahe' e where you slide spears across the grass and try to get them between two stakes. There's also 'ulu maika which is kind of our version of horseshoes where we pitch rocks at a stake and the closest one wins."

Steve's ears were perked up.

"My favorite part of the competition is the big event at the end. It's a kite flying competition. The kites are specially made of a hau wood frame and then covered with kappa or lauhala. They are what the woven mats were made of that are under the food on the luau table today. They have long tails too; some as long as ninety feet. Olona cord is used for kite string and sometimes as much as a mile of string is used so that the kites literally disappear up into the sky. I remember as a kid it taking half an hour to bring my kite back down when I let it get too high."

Steve was curious.

"What's Olona cord?"

"Wait right here and I'll show you."

Kono squeezed Steve shoulder as she got up and left to walk down near the beach. That was where everything had been set up for the games later. She returned with a kite. She held it out for Steve to hold and explained, passing the string around as she continued.

"It takes a long time to make. The processing sheds are near running water, since water is used in the process of extracting the fibers from the mature olona stems. The bark is carefully peeled after the strips of fiber are hung to drain in the shed. After draining, the strips are laid in running water for a day or two."

Steve ran his hands over the smooth cords.

"Have you made the cord before?"

"Yes. Grandmother insisted it be taught to every generation. She doesn't want the old ways to disappear."

Steve smiled at her.

"I learn something new about you every day Kalakaua."

Kono blushed and continued.

"Um, next the strips are placed on a narrow board, fastened securely at the top of the board, and then scraped with a tool called the uhi, made from the backbone of a turtle or a segment of its shell. After drying and after the removal of the outside stem, the resulting product is a mass of fine white fibers, which are then dried in the sun. After they are bleached in the sunlight they are twisted into fine cords of varying thicknesses."

"That sounds like a lot of work."

"It is, but the cord is incredibly strong. In today's competition the object is to wrap your string around another kite and pull it down while keeping yours in the air."

Chin grinned.

"Kono wins every year when we do these on Grandmother Kalakaua's birthday."

Steve looked into Kono's eyes and grinned.

"Really."

Kono tipped her chin up in challenge.

"Yes, really."

"Well, we'll have to see about that."

Just then a conch shell was blown signaling the start of the games and Kono's grandmother was walking slowly down to the playing area.

"Come on."

Kono grabbed Steve's hand and started running. Steve was happily surprised that she wanted to hold his hand and he wrapped it affectionately in his. Her eyes widened at the gesture as she headed down to the area.

Kono's Grandmother sat down on a large throne-like chair placed on a platform.

"Let the games begin."

Fourteen men and six women were participating and after each game the bottom five were out. Kono, Chin, Steve and Danny were all participating at Kono's grandmother's request. Danny made it to the second game before he lost out. Chin was out on the third game, but Steve and Kono made it to the kite competition.

Steve grinned at Kono and teased her.

"You're tough to beat Kalakaua, but you're going down."

"We'll see about that."

Kono's Grandmother listened to them joke and smiled with pride. Her granddaughter was a fierce competitor and she loved that about her.

Both Steve and Kono took out one of the competitors and then both went after the last guy because they wanted it to be a battle between the two of them in the end. Kono finally took the guy's kite out just as he was about to take out Steve.

Kono's grandmother winked at her and it was on. Steve dodged and moved his kite in huge dips, but in the end Kono just had too much experience and did some acrobatics with her kite he had never seen before. She tangled with his and then untwisted as it plummeted to the ground.

Kono's grandmother clapped and everyone cheered as a Haku Lei was placed on Kono's head for a crown. Steve thought she had never looked more beautiful.

"Commander, it looks like you put up a fierce fight, but you became tangled in my granddaughter's web. Maybe next time."

"May I escort you back to the house?"

"That would be very nice. They are all going to surf and that time has come and gone for me."

Kono gave her grandmother a warning look as she dropped her shorts and pulled her tank top off, revealing a tiny bikini. As Steve stared in admiration, she grabbed her board and joined her cousins in the water.

Once they were back on the Lanai, Steve pulled up a chair and sat beside the elderly woman. He studied her features and he could see the resemblance to Kono. She had dimples too, they were just lost in the wrinkles that came with age.

"So, Commander, what are you going to do about my granddaughter?"

"Excuse me?"

"She's in love with you."

"What? No. Kono has never…"

"Are all men as blind as you Commander?"

"Honesty ma'am. There has never been a time when…"

"Maybe there should be. You obviously love her too."

"Wow! Are you always so frank?"

"Sorry. It tends to be a family trait."

"So I see. Kono's the same way. She never minces words. So why hasn't she said anything to me?"

Kono's grandmother sighed. What was it with this generation? No wonder they hardly ever procreated anymore. They couldn't get together in the first place. This relationship was going to take some work.

"You still haven't responded to what I said. You're in love with her, are you not?"

Steve looked out at Kono riding one of the waves. He realized he hadn't let himself even entertain the idea given what a mess his life was. Maybe he should pay more attention to what his heart was telling him.

Kono's grandmother was looking at him tenderly.

"You are, aren't you?"

"I guess I have been for a long time now, but I've kept her at arms length."

"Life is too short Steven. You never know when it will be too late. In your line of work, you have to grab the joy every day because you never know when it will end. We are part of a long line of police officers and I can tell you that you must live every day like it's your last. It makes for an incredibly passionate relationship."

Now it was Steve's turn to blush.

"Uh…I don't know what to say to that."

"I think maybe you should go and surf. There are a lot of young men out there flirting with her. Don't waste another minute Steven. Besides, it would please me very much to be a great grandmother again. Kono's the baby of the family. Her mother was my last child at thirty-seven and Kono was her mother's last child at thirty-five. She's twenty-eight and I'm not getting any younger. Think you can move things along Commander?"

Steve saw the dimples flash as she smiled bigger than he had seen all afternoon. He swallowed hard. He wanted a family too, but would Kono want to settle down this young?

"Will you talk to her Steven?"

"Yes, ma'am. I promise to tell her my feelings."

"Good. Now go. I just saw her shove some young man down on the sand for getting a little too touchy."

Sure enough, Kono was standing over a guy that was laid out on the ground. She was yelling at him and then she marched back into the water throwing her hair over her shoulder. God she looked sexy when she did that! He kissed Kono's grandmother on the cheek and pulled his shirt over his head.

The woman felt faint as she got an eyeful of his abs and muscles. Her granddaughter was one lucky girl.

"Here goes."

From her spot on the lanai the old woman was able to watch what happened next. Steve paddled out to where Kono was sitting on a board out beyond the breakers. Steve joined her and turned his board to drift as close to Kono as he could get. She wondered what exactly he said as a minute later Kono pushed off and took a wave. Was she running? The matriarch hoped not.

She continued to watch as Steve followed her and then they both stuck their boards in the sand. They were standing toe to toe and then they were holding both of each other's hands. The one hundred year old reached down for her binoculars and focused on the two of them.

They were smiling down at each other and then Steve bent to kiss her. It was long and sweet and just watching them took the old woman back to a younger day in her own life when she had stood on that very beach kissing a man she would love for over seventy years.

Kono's mother, who had been watching and listening to the whole exchange between Steve and her mother, scolded her.

"Mother. Let them have their moment."

"They have no idea I'm watching and this is my birthday present to myself, so go do something else and leave an old woman to her fun."

"You're incorrigible."

"I know."

She continued to watch the two wander down the beach hand in hand. Steve was leaning towards Kono and she was looking up at him and talking animatedly. Her face was glowing and it made the elderly woman's heart swell. They stopped again and Steve's arms went around Kono's waist as hers drifted up to lock behind his neck. The kiss this time was passionate and Kono's grandmother knew she was invading a special moment, so she set the binoculars down and let her eyes drift closed.

Her granddaughter and given her the best gift of all and she was pleased.

**A/N: Hope you liked it Shani8 and all the others who take the time to read this. All the games are truly Hawaiian games. The kite story and how they are made is true too. Until next time, thanks for the reviews and the support. I love you guys. You know that.**


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